Sat, Nov 21 2009
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Published November 04, 2009 07:55 pm - Members of the city’s Hispanic population say many in their community are afraid that city police will target them for deportation following an incident last Friday involving what are apparently undocumented Mexican immigrants. A SHOW OF SOLIDARITY solidarity, City’s Hispanic community rallies behind teen from Mexico By CARL E. FEATHER - Staff Writer - cfeather@starbeacon.com Star Beacon ASHTABULA — Members of the city’s Hispanic population say many in their community are afraid that city police will target them for deportation following an incident last Friday involving what are apparently undocumented Mexican immigrants.
The incident grabbed the attention of Hispanas Organizadas de Lake y Ashtabula (HOLA), an advocacy group with a presence in Ashtabula. The group called a meeting of the Ashtabula Hispanic community Monday evening to show their solidarity for Ana, a 17-year-old girl from Mexico who was stopped by police as she rode on the handlebars of a bicycle being driven by her boyfriend, identified by police as “Mr. Cruz,” age unknown. The male fled when they were stopped by police, leaving Ana to deal with the officer’s questions. Speaking through a translator, Ana said police questioned her immigration status and that of her 7-month-old baby, who was riding in a car in front of them. Police eventually went to her house, where she was able to provide documentation of residence. Veronica Dahlberg, executive director of HOLA, said Ana’s story reinforces a growing con- cern in the Latino population. Immigrants worry that even when they are stopped for the smallest traffic offense and police discover they are undocumented, they will be reported to federal authorities, which can lead to deportation and separation from their U.S.-born children. At the very least, it can result in thousands of dollars in legal fees if they choose to fight the federal action. Camilo J. Villa, projects coordinator for HOLA, said the idea of any person being asked for immigration status during a traffic stop is “for me incomprehensible, and it’s also illegal.” About 40 members of the Hispanic community met with Villa, Dahlberg and Stanley Miller, president of the Cleveland branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Monday evening at the La Guadalupana grocery store on Center Street. The meeting was an opportunity to discuss the issue, hear Ana’s story and express their solidarity. “We’re all going to stand behind Ana,” Dahlberg said. The incident The incident occurred around 11 p.m. Friday in the city’s Jefferson Avenue neighborhood. Ashtabula City Police Chief Robert Stell said police were looking for two subjects, one of them a Hispanic male, who had been seen entering a vehicle on Park Avenue. The city has experienced a rash of breaking-and-entering incidents. The sketchy description police received stated one of the subjects was pushing a bicycle. Police patrolling the area came upon Cruz and Ana, but Stell said the couple started to play a game of “cat and mouse” with police. A unit was finally able to stop them, at which point Cruz took off running. An officer pursued him, and several other units were called to assist. Stell briefly looked for the subject, as well. With help from an interpreter, police learned Ana had no documentation for herself. She claimed her baby had been born in a Painesville hospital, but she could not provide a birth certificate or other documentation of his birth. Dahlberg said police eventually went to the residence, where Ana and her boyfriend, who fled the scene, live. A letter in the mailbox was used to verify the address, although the name on the envelope was different from the name Ana gave police. 
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